


Save Her

by Trexi



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Era, Episode: s02e09 Lady of the Lake, Gen, Season/Series 02
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-19
Updated: 2018-07-19
Packaged: 2019-06-13 05:35:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,725
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15357396
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trexi/pseuds/Trexi
Summary: Merlin asks Arthur for help to save Freya.





	Save Her

Merlin finally deems himself important enough to do his job and walks into my chambers looking like he wants something despite being several hours late.

“Merlin, fancy seeing you here. Do you mind telling me where exactly you’ve been?”

The insufferable idiot just shakes his head and locks my door, _my_ door, without _my_ permission. It’s like he wants to spend the rest of the day in the stocks, or maybe the dungeons considering his behaviour lately.

“It wasn’t a request, Merlin.”

“I’ve been researching ways to break a curse.”

I’d laugh if he didn’t look so serious. “Do you think you’ve been cursed? Because I’m pretty sure your idiocy and clumsiness, however extraordinary they may be, are perfectly natural.”

“It’s not for me!”

My smile drops. “Who do you think is cursed then?”

“I _know_ that someone I care about has been cursed. I’ve been trying to help her, but-.”

“Her? As in a girl?”

“Yes, that’s usually what her means. I can’t find the specific curse that was used because so many magic books were burned in the Purge, which is frankly absurd considering how many magic attacks Camelot faces. How are we meant to find a solution if we can’t identify the problem?” Merlin shakes his head. “Maybe if I take her back to the druids, they’d find a cure.”

“Wait a moment. What do you mean, back to the druids? What exactly have you gotten yourself into?”

Merlin sighs. “You might want to sit down. I need you to hear me out completely and standing will tempt you into throwing something at me before I’m done explaining.”

“I’m plenty tempted with you deciding to abandon your duties lately.”

“Trust me; I’m prepared to accept any punishment you want if you decide to help.”

It’s odd to hear him so serious. Fine, I suppose I can sit down. Merlin looks he’d rather run away, but he sits across from me and reluctantly meets my eyes.

“I freed the druid girl and have been hiding her from the bounty hunter and knights ever since.”

“You did what?” I yell, half out of my seat.

Merlin waits until I sit back down. “I freed an innocent girl that was terrified out of her mind after being kidnapped and shoved into a cage.”

“You’re saying that I defended you and you actually were committing treason?”

“I had to protect her.”

“Protect her? I may not completely agree with my father when it comes to druids, but this one is a danger to Camelot. Surely even you, as ridiculously soft-hearted as you are, can see that.”

Merlin shakes his head. “That’s just because of the curse. If I could find a way to break it, Freya wouldn’t be a danger to anyone.”

“Freya?” I scoff. “Of course you would bother learning the name of a monster.”

“SHE IS NOT A MONSTER!”

I flinch. Merlin stands up and paces the room in silence. He meets my wide eyes with a glare that immediately softens. He runs a hand through his hair and sits back down.

“Sorry, I just- I really don’t like that word,” he says quietly, eyes downcast. “Freya isn’t one. She was cursed by a spiteful sorceress and has no control over changing into a bastet. She doesn’t want to hurt anybody. She’s kind and innocent and good. You have to believe me.”

I swallow back all of my father’s training. “You truly care about her?”

“I’ve never felt this way about anyone.”

That certainly explains his reaction.

“And you’re sure that this isn’t just some enchantment, that she hasn’t used some magic against you?”

“Freya doesn’t have magic. She’s a druid, but she had as much choice in that as you did being born Prince.”

I’m going to regret this. “What would you have me do?”

“Save her, Arthur. Please.”

“How? Do you expect me to go against my father’s orders to hunt her down? Or perhaps you want me to risk her transforming and killing more innocents in Camelot. I certainly can’t march up to the King and explain that my manservant has a crush on the girl he wants to put on the pyre so could he please just let her go back to the druids he despises.”

Merlin shakes his head. “Nothing like that. I just... Tonight I’m taking Freya out of Camelot. If we get caught, do whatever your father expects of you; I won’t blame you for it. If she transforms and attacks you, I won’t blame you for defending yourself. Well, I guess if you kill her, I can’t say that I won’t be upset, but I’ll get over it. I could never hate you for it.”

How could he honestly say that? If someone killed a person I cared about, I’d never forgive them.

“These all seem like contingencies,” I point out. “I fail to see why they needed me knowing what you were doing. What exactly do you want from me?”

“Well a couple of days off to help Freya lift her curse would be nice,” Merlin says with a weak smile.

I don’t buy it. “Do you seriously believe to tell me that you risked me marching you down to the dungeons for aiding a druid just so you could ask for a couple of days off? The Merlin I know would just take the days off and apologise with some blatant lie afterwards.”

Merlin winces. “I’m not usually that obvious, am I?”

“Out with it, Merlin. What do you want?”

“Well, the patrol routes for tonight would be nice. Usually I have no troubles sneaking out of Camelot, really the guards are kind of pathetic, but this time I’ll have Freya who’s weak from only eating food I’ve snatched from your plates and not being able to move much. Plus if she does transform, I’d rather not have any guards or knights nearby to interfere while I coerce her out of Camelot.”

Sometimes Merlin says so many absurd things in one sitting that it’s best to pick the most relevant and address that, otherwise we’d be here all day talking about the times Merlin’s snuck out of Camelot before, not to mention stealing my food.

“And how exactly do you plan to coerce a mon- Freya out of Camelot once she’s transformed?”

Merlin shrugs. “I’ll figure it out.”

“Well, you’ll be sending word that you’re still alive in the morning.”

“Of course.”

“And if you find yourself unable to return to your duties-.”

“That won’t be the case.”

I falter at that. “You’re sure?”

Merlin looks me in the eye. “I’m sure.”

“You don’t have to feel obligated. I could give you my blessing and-.”

“Arthur, I’m sure. No matter what happens tonight. I might take a while to come back, but I will.”

“I’ll hold you to that.”

Merlin grins. “I should go pack.”

“Right, I’ll get you those patrol details.” I slide out of my chair. “Oh, and Merlin?”

“Yes, Arthur?”

“Don’t get yourself killed or anything. You still haven’t gotten around to cleaning my chambers in the past few days. I certainly can’t have someone else doing your job for you.”

“Not to worry, Arthur. Since when have you known me to get into trouble?”

Merlin leaves before I can provide him an extensive list.

This is the second case of me helping a druid escape Camelot, however indirectly this time. I do hope Merlin being involved whenever I go behind my father’s back doesn’t become a regular occurrence. To think, the first time that happened was to get that damned flower. Now he’s gotten himself pining after a cursed druid. It’s a wonder that idiot is still alive.

*

It’s been a week since Merlin left. I’m not sure he understands the definition of a couple of days off. I wasn’t worried, of course. He sent word when he and Freya made it to a group of druids, plus nobody has reported sightings of said group. I’m certainly not relieved when I spy him strolling into the courtyard from my window. I merely sit myself down at my desk and read through some reports. Merlin arrives quickly enough, locking the door behind him just like he did a week ago.

“Is it done?” I ask, putting the latest report down.

“She’s cured.”

“Do I want to know how?”

Merlin considers it while crossing my chambers. “Probably not,” he says.

I sigh and stand up. “Why’d you come back? Why not stay with her?”

“I wanted to, but I belong here. My duty is in Camelot.”

Something tells me there’s more to that than just being manservant to the Crown Prince, but I won’t ask, not today.

“She could’ve come back, after the bounty hunter left. Nobody would recognise her.”

“Freya’s spent enough of her life trapped and scared. I wouldn’t wish another day of that on her. Living in Camelot, with her druid mark, would be like living here with magic. Every morning she wakes up, she’d wonder if it was her last. I can’t put her through that for me.”

I grip his shoulder. “You did the right thing, Merlin.”

Merlin hangs his head. “Then why does it feel like I just cut out my heart?”

“Because you managed something the bravest can only claim they would do, but never follow through on. You let go of your happiness purely for the sake of another. You turned away from the easy path in exchange for the hardest. You remained loyal despite the temptation to give up.”

He looks at me, surprised. I don’t know what he’s hiding, but the combination of fear and hope in his expression is enough to reassure me. He’ll tell me when it’s time. If I hadn’t helped with Freya, I’m not sure how he’d see me. I don’t think he’d hate me; he made that pretty clear already. But I don’t think he’d trust me, not enough.   

Merlin sighs. “Thank you for your help, Arthur. I won’t forget it.”

“Yes, well, someone needs to stop you from getting yourself killed.”

He smiles, quick and bright, before turning away to finally clean my chambers.

Maybe when I’m King I can end the persecution of druids. They’ve always been a peaceful people. It doesn’t hurt that bringing Freya back would make Merlin truly smile a little more.

**Author's Note:**

> I know he was distracted, but I found it odd that Merlin didn't try to find a cure for Freya. I guess the creators of the show needed her to die, though I wish he would've at least tried (even though he didn't know about the curse for a while).


End file.
